Pearls Of Wisdom

Meditation

The aim of meditation is to strengthen the mind’s ability to focus on a single object or topic, which in turn enables the mind to overcome problems at their root. It will also help you to be more alert and sharp in daily life; it will gradually increase your power of memory, which is useful in all parts of your life.

Meditation is the process whereby we gain control over the mind and guide it in a more virtuous direction. Meditation may be thought of as a technique by which we diminish the force of old thought habits and develop new ones. Even if you only spend a brief time each day on your meditation practice, you will find it very nourishing. Your mind will lose the habit of being scattered.

…His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Morality

No killing; no stealing; no lying etc.
No sleeping around – the list gets longer and longer.

We must not become identified with morality at the expense of GRACE or COMPASSION. We cannot go around spending too much time telling people how to live their lives.

COMPASSION is the heart of Buddhism.

It is generosity and favour to those who fail to deserve it (in other words, all of us).

There are none so bad or evil who should be beyond our compassion.
And compassion is free – there is no charge.

If we experienced the gift of compassion from whatever the source then we should in turn learn to impart it.

Morality is important too. But its qualification for entry into any temple, church or synagogue AND BY ITSELF ALONE, DETACHED FROM COMPASSION, BECOMES SINGULARLY UNATTRACTIVE.

It means well, but it becomes suffocating, shrill and hectoring. It seems quick to judge and slow to love.

The anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of morality.

All virtuous states of mind take on a deeper meaning, and penetrate our very being when combined with the grace of compassion.

Face the Facts

The starting point for the Mahayana, the path of the bodhisattva, is that you do not regard your life as boring, nor do you try to escape from your life by any means whatsoever. You do not run after entertainment or substitutions of any kind. You are honest and direct, and you face the facts of life, not only for your own sake, but for the sake of others. You would never let anybody down, or let go of anybody in order to seek pleasure for your own sake. That is what is known as being a fearless bodhisattva warrior.

… by Chogyam Trungpa

A Noble Vision

I recognize that this wish to create a better society, end all the suffering of all beings everywhere, and protect the entire planet may not seem particularly feasible. But whether or not we accomplish such goals in our lifetime, it is nevertheless deeply meaningful to cultivate such a vast sense of responsibility, and the wholehearted wish to be able to benefit others. This outlook is so wholesome and noble that it is worth developing, regardless of the probability of actually accomplishing such a vast vision.

… by H.H. the Seventeenth Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje

Ordinary Distractions are a Waste

If there is one constant tendency of our fickle and every-changing minds, it is our strong predilection for ordinary distractions. Until we learn to master our thoughts and attain true stability of mind, our commitment is bound to be hesitant, and we run the risk of being distracted by activities with little true meaning, wasting our life and the precious opportunities for the Dharma it has brought us. To postpone the practice of Dharma until tomorrow is tantamount to postponing it till we die.

... Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Wanting to be Happy

The self-centred thought is not who we are. The self-centred thought is different from the mind that wants to be happy because we’re sentient beings. Everybody wants to be happy. There’s no problem with wanting to be happy. The problem is the way the self-centred thought goes about thinking of our happiness and the way it goes about getting happiness. It is a distorted mental state that can be eliminated by seeing its disadvantages, applying the antidotes, and cultivating the mind that cherishes others.

… The Ven.Thubten Chodron

Awakening Compassion

Compassion is the bridge, the spiritual foundation for peace, harmony, and balance. The ego is the obstacle…playing games, grasping, being clever and ingenious; it essentially runs our lives. The ego has so programmed us physically and mentally that only compassion can break the ego’s hold on us and enable us to develop our full potential as human beings.

…Tarthang Tulku

Autobiography in Five Chapters

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost…I am hopeless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to found a way out.

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in the same place.
But it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in …it’s a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

I walk down another street.

…by Portia Nelson.

Emotions Help Wake Us Up

Before we can extend our compassion to others, we first have to extend it to ourselves. How do we do this ?

We have to look at our own mind and appreciate how our own neurotic expressions – our confused thoughts and disturbing emotions – are actually helping us wake up.

Our aggression can help us develop clarity and patience. Our passion can help us let go of attachments and be more generous. Basically, once we see that this mind of confusion is also our mind of awakening, we can appreciate it and have confidence in our ability to work with it. It’s a good mind after all, the mind that will carry us to enlightenment. When we understand this, we can begin to let go of our previous attitude of revulsion toward our emotions.

(Excerpted from ‘Rebel Buddha”Seeking happiness outside ourselves is like waiting for sunshinein a cave facing north…. Tibetan sayingReflecting on ImpermanenceShould you look for a parable of life and death.
Ice and water are the true companions.
Water binds and turns water into ice.
Ice melts and again becomes water,
Whatever has died will certainly be born,
Whatever has come to life must die.
….Han Shan

Spontaneous Peace

When we look outside ourselves for happiness, lasting joy eludes us. External phenomena are impermanent yet we are trapped by our continuous desire and expectation for long term happiness.

When we turn our mind in, we discover an inner balance undisturbed by anger, attachment and ignorance. When the mind completely rests, natural great peace spontaneously arises like the meeting of mother and child.

The Nature Of Gain And Loss

Our understanding of gain and loss is confused. We make individual short-term plans, expecting instant long-term results. However, our happiness is short lived. The precious Dharma shows that when we think only of ourselves, our relationships and businesses suffer. By recognizing cause and effect, we can create positive conditions that benefit ourselves and others.

The real secret of success, the one the self-help books don’t tell us, is putting others first which is the key to a fulfilled, meaningful, and happy life.

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Nothing exists the way it appears, it is all up to our Karma….
… Padmasambhava

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YOU ONLY LOSE THOSE THINGS THAT YOU CLING TO !!!!
After Lord Buddha became fully enlightened, his mind had totally opened to the absolute potential of any mind and then, from all that he knew from his own knowing consciousness, he subtracted that which he felt was the most essential message people needed in order to attain liberation.

There is a story of a time when the Buddha was wandering through the forest with a group of monks and he picked up from the ground of the forest a handful of leaves and asked his monks, “What is more, the leaves in my hand or the leaves in the forest?” Of course the monks gave the most obvious answer. “The leaves in your hands are so few, the leaves in the forest are infinite.” And the Buddha replied “That is the same as I have realized. The infinity of what I have realized and what I’m teaching you. What I’m teaching you is like the leaves in my hand, but, that is all you need for liberation”.

So all the dharma that that Buddha taught was just an abstract from the vastness of what he actually understood, just what we need to be liberated, and from that, in the first sermon, in the first turning of the wheel, he abstracted again the very essence of the essence !!!
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What is Buddhism ????
Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future; it transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural and spiritual, and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity.
……………….. Einstein

VIEW

Dualistic thought is the net that entraps. The holder of the kingdom is spontaneous awareness. Display arises from unmoving unceasing awareness. Like the play of children there is nothing to abandon, nothing to grasp. (Padampa Sange)

If in this life of one hundred years you were to lose one day where would you go to find it again ? (Zen Master Dogen, Unbroken Practice)
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The human body at peace with itselfIs more precious than the rarest gemCherish your body, it is yours this one time onlyThe human form is won with difficultyIt is easy to loseAll worldly things are briefLike lightning in the skyThis life you must know as the tiny splash of a raindropA thing of beauty that disappears – even as it comes into beingTherefore, set your goalMake use of every day and night to achieve it. (Je Tsong Khapa) ~~~~~~~
COMPASSION is identified with “Skill in Means” (Upaya) rather than self-sacrificing or self-serving acts.